Coimbatore : Over 5,000 Ayyappa devotees took out a procession on the main thoroughfare in the city, protesting against the Supreme Court ruling allowing women of all ages to offer prayers at the hill shrine of Sabarimala in Kerala.

The devotees, majority of them women, held placards and raised slogans against the verdict, which they termed as against the culture and tradition and sang Ayyappa hymns.

The women participants also chanted Saranam Ayyappa during the 5-km procession, organised by Coimbatore Sree Ayyappa Seva Sangham

Later, they squatted in the middle of a road and sang bhajans for a while.

Former BJP MP and Coir Board Chairman C P Radhakrishnan and Arya Vaidya Pharmacy Managing Director P R Krishnakumar were among those present at the procession.